Riser v. State
| Docket Number: | 2001-KA-01822-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 05-13-2003 Opinion Author: McMillin, C.J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Murder & Aggravated assault - Multi-count indictment - Continuance Judge(s) Concurring: King and Southwick, P.JJ., Bridges, Thomas, Lee, Irving, Myers, Chandler and Griffis, JJ. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 06-13-2001 Appealed from: Madison County Circuit Court Judge: Samac Richardson Disposition: COUNT I, MURDER: SENTENCE OF LIFE. COUNT II, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT: SENTENCE OF TWENTY YEARS. COUNT III, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT: SENTENCE OF TWENTY YEARS. COUNT IV, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT: SENTENCE OF TWENTY YEARS. COUNT V, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT: SENTENCE OF TWENTY YEARS ALL IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS. SENTENCES IN COUNTS II THROUGH V ARE TO RUN CONSECUTIVELY WITH EACH OTHER AND CONSECUTIVELY TO COUNT I. Case Number: 2001-0206 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Deandre Riser a/k/a Kenny Lee |
WESLEY THOMAS EVANS |
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| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: DEIRDRE MCCRORY |
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| Topic: | Murder & Aggravated assault - Multi-count indictment - Continuance |
| Summary of the Facts: | Deandre Riser was convicted of one count of murder and four counts of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on the murder conviction and twenty years on each aggravated assault conviction, the assault sentences to be served consecutively to each other and consecutively to the murder sentence. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Issue 1: Multi-count indictment Originally, Riser was indicted only on a murder charge involving the deceased victim. Shortly before the trial date, a different grand jury returned a new indictment charging Riser with one count of murder, together with four additional counts, each one for aggravated assault against the remaining four victims who survived the shooting. Riser argues that the court erred by not granting severance of the multi-count indictment that was issued just prior to trial. Multi-count indictments are authorized only when the alleged crimes arise out of the same transaction or are parts of a common scheme. To determine if the alleged offenses do indeed arise out of the same transaction or are parts of a common scheme, the court must consider the time period between the offenses, whether evidence proving each offense would be admissible to prove the other counts, and whether the offenses are interwoven. Here, the judge recognized that the offenses occurred at the same place, the entire incident was over in a matter of minutes, and the offenses were so interrelated that telling the story of what happened would be much harder if the offenses were severed. Issue 2: Continuance Riser argues that, even if it was permissible to try him on all counts in one trial, the court erred in denying his request for a continuance and forcing him to go to trial so soon after the new indictment was issued. The denial of a continuance is not an issue that may be reviewed for error on appeal when the matter is not assigned as a ground for a new trial in an appropriate post-trial motion. Riser did not assert this as error in his motion filed after the guilty verdicts were returned. |
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